Local networks often make use of a communication line, such as a communication bus, over which a set of nodes communicates. A driver module in a master node applies power to the line, the driver module being switched to produce step changes in the power in the line to transmit signals to receivers in remote slave nodes over the line. The switched power signal activates the multiplexed remote nodes connected to the line and the line also selectively transmits signals from the remote nodes back to a central processing unit.
Such a bus is used in automotive vehicles, for example, the bus either comprising a single line or often comprising a twisted pair of conductors in which the current flows, the close coupling between the pair of conductors reducing their sensitivity to electromagnetic interference (‘EMI’), that is to say reception of noise induced in the wires of the bus, and improving their electromagnetic compatibility (‘EMC’), that is to say the radiation of parasitic fields by the currents flowing in the wires of the bus; both are critical parameters, especially in automotive applications.
Historically, in automotive applications, functions such as door locks, seat positions, electric mirrors, and window operations have been controlled directly by electrical direct current delivered by wires and switches. Such functions may today be controlled by ECUs (Electronic Control Units) together with sensors and actuators in a multiplexed Controller Area Network (CAN). The Controller Area Network (CAN) standard (ISO 11898) allows data to be transmitted by switching a voltage, at a frequency of 250 kbauds to 1 Mbaud for example, to the multiplexed receiver modules over the twisted pair cable. The receiver modules may be actuators that perform a function, for example by generating mechanical power required, or sensors that respond to activation by making measurements and transmitting the results back to the ECU over the bus.
The CAN bus was originally designed to be used as a vehicle serial data bus, and satisfies the demands of real-time processing, reliable operation in a vehicle's EMI environment, is cost-effective, and provides a reasonable data bandwidth. A variant on the CAN standard is the LIN (Local Interconnect Network) sub-bus standard (see ISO 7498), which is an extension to the CAN bus, at lower speed and on a single wire bus, to provide connection to local network clusters.
The wires of a communication bus are often long and present a substantial distributed reactive load to the transmitter to which they are connected and especially their capacitive loads may be individually variable. It is important, for example for meeting acceptable EMI and EMC performance levels, that the slew rate of the switched signals (that is to say their rate of rise and fall of amplitude) is controlled in order to enable precise timing of certain elements of the signals transmitted. In particular, in the case of a bus comprising a pair of conductors, matching of the slew rate between the two conductors is important.